Fezco // Safe Space (𝔼𝕦𝕡𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕒)

Chapter 13

Sofia's POV

The rest of that day was a blur. It was dark, quiet, and my phone was on DND. The last few days out of the rest of that school week crept up quickly, and by the time the weekend hit I had ghosted everybody for 48 hours overall. Including the people I live with.

Then, another week went by.

I haven't contacted Devin, or anybody for that matter. Not even Fez. But I did take Fez's advice. I had stopped drinking, and every time I found myself moping around, I rolled up a blunt. It helped me be more productive. Instead of crying, I would distract myself by cleaning up around my room or trying new makeup looks. Smoking is better thank drinking. Long story short, the entire jar of weed Rue had given me was gone by the end of the week.

Speaking of Rue, she would check in on me from time to time. She even stopped by my house to see if I was alright, but I knew she was too caught up in Jules to be worried about me right now. That's the great part about our friendship, we understand when to give each other space.

"Sofia, dinner is ready" my mom called from downstairs. I groaned and put my face back down in my pillow. I didn't even bother using makeup to cover the bruises he had left, but I'm not sure any of them have seen the bruises anyway considering I've been locked away in my room this whole time.

Why haven't the bruises went away by now? They're faint, but still very visible.

When I wasn't crying, I spent my time wearing face masks, deleting old memories from my phone and smoking. Trying to recover from what happened with Devin. It's not the most violent he has ever been, but Fez was right. I should never see him again after realizing that he would treat me that way a long time ago. Seeing the way that Fez treats me compared to how Devin treats me is a real eye opener.

In fact, the more I put myself around Fez, the more disgusted and unsatisfied I am with Devin.

I barely ate dinner, and they've been avoiding talking with me too. At least people understand to give me space, that's the least they can do if they're not going to let me make my own decisions about Devin. Right now, Devin and I are "broken up" so the only thing I need to worry about is taking him back before my mom decides to have the talk with me. I hate the talk, nothing she says will ever make sense or make me want to stay with him. I'd rather just do what she wants me to do and get it over with. I can't stand dealing with this anymore, I just want to see Fez again.

I took a long shower, got back into bed and tried not to think too much. The last thing I saw was a text pop up on my phone.

Fez: everything okay?

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"I wanna look cute but not eager" Cassie says as she rummages through the closet filled with clothes. "then don't wear that top" Maddie advises her. "This? I thought I looked good. I don't really know if I like this body suit though" they rambled as I perfected my makeup in the mirror.

"What are you looking at?" Lexi asks Kat. "Nothing just this article" she responded. "About what?" Lexi questions further. "Um... you know, like uh... The Holocaust." she says. "Oh, cool" Lexi replies. "Love that" Maddy adds. "Lex?" Cassie tries getting her sisters attention. "It's cute" Lexi tells her without even looking up. "I wish I had your collar bone" Maddy tells Cass.

Lexi and Cassie's mom walks into the room. "I'm putting a lot of trust into you" she says as the door swings open. "Yeah Cassie don't get pregnant" Kat teases her. "That's not funny, Kat. but don't you dare get pregnant." Suze says. "Relax mom, he has a roommate." Cassie tells her mom.

"I want you to keep your phone on throughout the night. You send me a photo when you get back to the dorm. With a clock in it" Suze says before sipping her wine. "Like a ransom photo?" Maddy asks. "I hate you" Cassie jokes. "Well, I love you" Suze raises her eyebrows. "I love you too" was Cassie's final response.

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"Have fun babygirl" Cassie's mom says as we watch Cassie run off to McKay's car. "No funny business Christopher" she shouts to McKay. "Yeah, no, I promise" he defends himself. "Just be a gentleman" she calls out to him. "and don't you dare get pregnant." she mumbles the last part.

Once Cassie parts ways with us, we make our way back inside and I plop down on Cassie's bed. Shortly after Kat and Lexi get settled in for bed, Maddy was making her way outside to get picked up by Nate. I say goodbye to my sister as I finally pick up my phone to respond to Fez. I ignored the part where he asked if I was okay, and went straight for the point.

me: can I see you?

Fez responded almost instantly.

Fez: wya I'll come get you

I send him the address and he likes the message.

Fez: did you eat today?

me: not much

Fez: I bet your hungry

me: (:

"Who have you been texting?" Lexi asks casually. "Fez" I respond. "Fezco? The guy who works at the corner store, right?" she asks. "Yeah" I confirm, applying some lip gloss. "...Does Devin know?" Kat half whispers. "No, Kat, he doesn't know. He doesn't need to know." I say, slightly irritated. Maddy tells Kat almost everything, so she definitely knows about my situationship and the things I deal with. The cheating, the abuse, and being forced to stay in a relationship. "fair enough" Kat says.

"I've been talking to this guy, Elliot. He's really cool" Lexi smiles. "That's good, Lex." I tell her, glad that she decided to mind her business on this one. Neither of them can tell me that I'm wrong for seeing anyone behind Devin's back, especially after what he has put me through and the shit that went down last time I saw him. I still haven't spoken to him since then no matter how much he reaches out to me.

Fez pulls up outside and I say my goodbyes, making my way to his car. Now that I think about it, he took longer than I expected considering how close he lives to Lexi and Cassie. I open the car door and realize what took him so long once I sit down.

"Hey Sofia, here I got you something" he tells me, handing me some waffle fries and a large drink that looked like strawberry lemonade. I took a sip and immediately smiled. "How did you know?" I asked him sweetly, a smile coming on to my face. "I pay attention" he says, pulling off away from Lexi's property.

I remember back at The Waffle House when I ordered the same drink and smiled to myself. He really does pay attention to the little things. "How was work?" I ask him. "You know, same shit different day. So where we going?" he asks casually, the sun beginning to set. "Do you mind if I stay with you tonight?" I ask him bluntly, looking over at him. I see a small smile creep up on his face. "Of course not, you can stay with me whenever you need. I told you that." he reminds me.

There was a silence despite the faint music playing on the radio with the volume on low. "I'm glad you asked actually, I thought you disappeared on me for a minute" he continues the conversation as I sip my drink. "me too, but here I am" I say sarcastically. "wow like that?" he chuckles. "no, not really. I wouldn't disappear on you like that" I say, making eye contact with him for a moment. His eyes are so hypnotizing. "I just had a rough week" I tell him truthfully.

"maybe when we get back to the crib you can tell me about it" he mentions casually, making a swift turn on the next street. "maybe" I say, looking out the window.

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𝕟𝕖𝕩𝕥 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣